Obama: ‘I absolutely would save Mr. Putin if he were drowning’

Rest assured, world: Were Russian President Vladimir Putin to start drowning, President Obama would attempt a rescue.

During a joint press conference in Seoul on Friday with Obama and South Korea President Park Geun-hye, a reporter asked Obama about Putin’s recent thoughts about the hypothetical drowning scenario.

“I’m sure you saw President Putin was asked if he were drowning, would you save him?” the reporter asked Obama. “And he said he thought you would save him. So I’m just wondering is he correct on that and do you think that Putin would save you?”

Obama replied: “First of all, I absolutely would save Mr. Putin if he were drowning. I’d like to think that if anybody is out there drowning I’m going to save them.”

“I used to be a pretty good swimmer — I grew up in Hawaii,” Obama said, before adding that he is “a little out of practice.”

The drowning scenario question first came about last week in Russia, when a six-year-old girl wrote a letter asking Putin whether he thought Obama would try to save the Russian leader if he were about to die. Putin said he thought Obama would.

For the record, if this scenario somehow came true, Obama would not be the first White House occupant to save the life of someone drowning. Ronald Reagan famously saved 77 people as a former lifeguard.